praalgraf's review against another edition
3.0
mixed bag. i really liked some of the poems, particularly 'music' and 'to eros', as well as 'from my diary, july 1914', but most of them, while well-written, didn't really speak to me
hollypeckitt's review against another edition
4.0
Read for AS Level English Literature 3.5/5
I don't know whether I can fully count this as read, as we only studied about 1/2 the poems in this book, but I've read some others, and will probably go on to read the rest soon.
I'm not the biggest poetry lover. I feel like I have to connect to the poet and just get what they are saying [Ariel by Sylvia Plath lacked this connection, hence why I hated it so much]. But overall I really enjoyed this.
Owen's subject was the Pity of War, and I think his poetry serves to do this theme justice perfectly. Some are horrific, like Dulce Et Decorum Est, and others are just haunting, like Shadwell Stair or Strange Meeting, but I feel like I took something away from each of these, and for that I'm grateful. Reading this collection reminded me of when I went to Flanders and Wallonia in Belgium and Northern France a couple of years ago, and the experience of seeing the places in which these battles were fought. Having that experience only made me appreciate these poems more, and want to revisit.
Favourites - Futility, Anthem For Doomed Youth, The Last Laugh, Strange Meeting, Soldier's Dream, Storm.
I don't know whether I can fully count this as read, as we only studied about 1/2 the poems in this book, but I've read some others, and will probably go on to read the rest soon.
I'm not the biggest poetry lover. I feel like I have to connect to the poet and just get what they are saying [Ariel by Sylvia Plath lacked this connection, hence why I hated it so much]. But overall I really enjoyed this.
Owen's subject was the Pity of War, and I think his poetry serves to do this theme justice perfectly. Some are horrific, like Dulce Et Decorum Est, and others are just haunting, like Shadwell Stair or Strange Meeting, but I feel like I took something away from each of these, and for that I'm grateful. Reading this collection reminded me of when I went to Flanders and Wallonia in Belgium and Northern France a couple of years ago, and the experience of seeing the places in which these battles were fought. Having that experience only made me appreciate these poems more, and want to revisit.
Favourites - Futility, Anthem For Doomed Youth, The Last Laugh, Strange Meeting, Soldier's Dream, Storm.
hannahr's review
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
nijinsky's review
4.0
Owen has more strikingly memorable poems than Sassoon, and less bitterness (though Sass' influence is tangible in Apologia and Dulce, for example, and Owen's bitterness is knife-sharp). A consistent grief and longing permeates many of his poems. His juvenalia are charming and precocious! Knowles' introduction is a well-informed and compassionate set-up for Owen's work.
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